One of the most beautiful parts, if not the most beautiful part, of the game of basketball is the jump shot. From being against all odds with the clock running down to demoralizing your opponent with the nail in the coffin, the jump shot has the ability to capture our imagination. And the Indiana Pacers had one of the best to ever do it in Reggie Miller.
It’s hard to know how successful Reggie’s tactics would have been in today’s NBA. But given the era he played in, he oftentimes doesn’t get the same respect other great shooters such as Ray Allen and Steph Curry enjoy.
Steph Curry is often talked about as the greatest shooter the NBA has ever seen. It’s not hard to see why. Chef Curry is constantly doing things from behind the arc that have never been done before. Additionally, he has won multiple MVPs and championships to solidify his legacy as the greatest shooter to ever play.
But if for a moment, we were to compare these two great players, how far off of Steph was Reggie really? We dive into the numbers to see if the gap is necessarily that wide between these two all-time level players.
The case for Reggie Miller
If you were to just go by the career statistics line, Reggie Miller doesn’t look nearly as impressive as his legacy would suggest:
Career Statistics: 18.2 PT, 3.0 RB, 3.0 AST, 47.1 FG%, 39.5 FG3%
While these are certainly good numbers, they aren’t jump-off-the-page good numbers. So let’s dig a little deeper into the advanced metrics. If we look at league-adjusted numbers for Reggie’s career, we end up with the following:
Adjusted Career Statistics: 102 FG%, 114 FG3%, 281 3PAR% (3 pt attempt rate), 126 FTR% (free attempts per field goal)
The story here begins to look much better for Reggie Miller, who clearly stood out among his peers. He shot nearly 3 times as many threes as the average NBA player, and made them a whopping 14% more often.
While his numbers don’t always look impressive in the modern NBA, you had to admit, that these numbers are pretty awesome when you compare Reggie to his peers. And the case for Reggie Miller doesn’t stop there.
What also contributes to the legacy of Reggie Miller is his ability to hit shots in the biggest moments. Jeff Kowalsky of ESPN writes:
"In the final nine seasons of his career (regular season and playoffs), Miller made 142 three-pointers in crunch time, 54 more than the next closest player in that time period."
Nobody, and we mean nobody, was as clutch or relied upon in the final minutes as Reggie Miller. And much of this doesn’t show up in the regular stats.
And not that it matters too much, but Reggie’s acting and trash talking would be next-level in this era of players flopping.
The case for Steph Curry
Steph hardly needs a person to make a case for him. A two-time MVP and multiple time NBA champion, Steph’s play speaks for itself. However, for a comparison like this to work, we need to understand the differences between Steph Curry and Reggie Miller. Let’s look at the basic statistics below.
Miller Career Statistics: 18.2 PT, 3.0 RB, 3.0 AST, 47.1 FG%, 39.5 FG3%
Curry Career Statistics: 24.5 PT, 4.7 RB, 6.5 AST, 47.4 FG%, 42.8 FG3%
When you look at the numbers, Curry has an advantage in every category. While some would end the comparison here, it would be an injustice not to compare them to their peers at the time. This allows us to account for at least some of the differences in the way the game was played between eras.
Miller Adjusted Career Statistics: 102 FG%, 114 FG3%, 281 3PAR% (3 pt attempt rate), 126 FTR% (free attempts per field goal)
Curry Adjusted Career Statistics: 104 FG%, 120 FG3%, 168 3PAR%, 91 FTR%
When you look at the era adjusted statistics, the comparison is much closer. Curry shoots field goals and 3 pointers a bit better against his peers than Reggie did. However, Reggie drew more fouls and shot a crazy amount more 3 pointers than his peers.
Our thoughts: Curry is better but not by as much as you think.
We aren’t going to light the internet on fire and tell you that Reggie was better than Steph Curry. But oftentimes in these conversations, Reggie Miller isn’t given near the amount of respect that he is due.
The man truly was ahead of his time. He shot nearly three times as many shots from deep compared to his peers in the league. And given how often he drew free throws, Reggie would thrive in today’s league that calls all sorts of tick-tack fouls.
In today’s league, we imagine Reggie would look much more like an elite version of Klay Thompson. He has more length than Curry, and would likely have a bit more driving potential compared to Steph who has more point guard skills.
As far as who’s the better shooter altogether? Steph has the edge on 3 point field goal percentage on crazy volume, so we will give him that.
But if you ask us about Ray Allen….well that’s another story.